PHOTOJOURNALISM

PROJECTS

A 23 years old girl was gang raped by six men on a bus in Delhi suburbs. The injuries she reported were so dramatic she died after two weeks in December 2012. Instead of hiding her tragedy, her family demanded openly justice and forced India to become aware of this latent problem. Violence against women has never been so evident.

Media now focus on gender-based violence and people ask to the central government prompt answers. In a country of one billion and two hundred million inhabitants, where a rape occurs every 22 minutes, gender-based violence becomes crucial in the national debate.

Nevertheless the responsibility to look for tangible solutions lies on federal states. Rajasthan is the largest state of India and the second state for number of crimes against women such as rape, domestic violence and harassment caused by dowry. The local government started a programme to support women empowerment that includes: martial arts training in schools, women’s police station creation, counselling centres implementation, stay home for victims of violence development.

Meanwhile in the near state of Uttar Pradesh, an Indian Ordnance Factories under the Ministry of Defence called Field Gun Factory, started to produce and market small and light guns designed specifically for women’s self-defence.